(openPR) - SEATTLE – LuxuryRealEstate.com, the most-viewed luxury real estate Web site in the world, was rated the most prestigious real estate Web site by wealthy U.S. consumers in the 2008 Luxury Brand Status Index survey released today. The survey was conducted by the Luxury Institute, an independent research company in New York City.

The following are the nine top-rated Web sites by respondents in this survey. They are listed in alphabetical order:
- Century21.com
- ColdwellBankerPreviews.com
- ERA.com
- LuxuryRealEstate.com
- PrudentialProperties.com
- Realtor.com
- Remax.com
- SothebysRealty.com
- WeichertCapital.com

“This study illustrates our dedication to high-end homebuyers and sellers in the United States and around the world,” said John Brian Losh, CEO/publisher of LuxuryRealEstate.com and CEO/chairman of Ewing & Clark, Inc., Seattle’s oldest real-estate brokerage. “It’s an honor to receive such high praise from wealthy consumers. They demand only the finest properties and that’s exactly what we provide on our Web site.”

The Luxury Brand Status Index survey is the only measure of wealthy Americans’ views on leading brands. A national sample of 1,666 affluent American consumers was surveyed online. The average annual income was $348,000 and the average net worth was $3.7 million.

Since its creation in 1995 at the dawn of the Internet age, LuxuryRealEstate.com has been the most popular site in its field. In July 2008 the site received 68.9 million hits and 3.6 million page views from viewers in 155 countries. The site currently lists more than 63,000 properties in 98 countries with an average listing price of $2,506,152. These statistics are provided by Google Web Analytics.

LuxuryRealEstate.com is well-known for its networking opportunities, as well as its luxury properties. In July, LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Web team unveiled the new Luxury Lounge (lounge.luxuryrealestate.com), an invitation-only social-networking community for professionals within the LuxuryRealEstate.com network to make connections with quality peers all over the world. The LuxuryRealEstate.com Blog (blog.luxuryrealestate.com) is also becoming a popular feature of the site, attracting daily readership.

For more information on the LBSI survey and the Luxury Institute, visit www.LuxuryInstitute.com. For more information on LuxuryRealEstate.com, visit www.LuxuryRealEstate.com.

Luxury Real Estate
2110 Western Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121, USA

Press Contact: Robert Lockard
T: (800) 488-4066 Ext. 856
F: (206) 695-4837
E: rlockard@luxuryrealestate.com

About LuxuryRealEstate.com
www.LuxuryRealEstate.com is the most-viewed luxury real estate Web site in the world. The Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate network includes 1,813 of the world’s finest real-estate companies with properties in 100 countries. Participation is strictly invitation-only by CEO/Publisher John Brian Losh. In Ultimate Homes’ 2008 issue, the network represented more than twice the number of top 1,000 most-expensive properties in the country than any other network. The Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate network is governed by the Board of Regents.